The Legislature should find a way to open the dual enrollment program to all Vermont high school juniors and seniors, regardless of whether they attend a private or public school.

The dual enrollment program overseen by the Vermont Agency of Education allows qualifying high school students to take up to two college courses without having to pay tuition.

Dual enrollment offers high school students the opportunity to take advanced classes, get exposure a college academic environment and reduce the cost of a degree.

Juniors and seniors attending public high schools in of publicly funded independent schools are eligible for the program as are students in state-sanctioned home study programs.

The Vermont State Colleges has a contract with the Agency of Education to handle the dual enrollment tuition payments direct with 18 participating post-secondary institutions around the state including private colleges and trade schools.

The House this week voted down measures that would have allowed students attending religious and nonreligious private high schools to participate in the program.

Some representatives worried including students at religious schools in the program could be construed as state support of a religion in violation of the Constitution.

This must be a step toward opening the dual enrollment opportunity to more Vermont students.

Dual enrollment exists outside of any particular high school, though a student can take courses offered on a college campus or offered at his or her high school.

If paying for college instruction on the campus of a religious school raises constitutional questions, that the Legislature should adopt language to address those concerns.

The state has no broad obligation to provide financial support to private schools — religious or otherwise — when a viable public alternative is available. But the Legislature should recognize the difference between supporting the student who happens to attend a religious school and supporting the institution itself.

The private school exclusion makes even less sense given the program has provisions to qualify home schooled students for dual enrollment.

The question is, do legislators see the dual enrollment program as a form of financial help for public schools or as a way to help students succeed?

Lawmakers’ focus should be on providing opportunities for Vermont students, regardless of the type of school in which they might be enrolled.

Join the conversation. Comment online at BurlingtonFreePress.com or send a letter to the editor to letters@freepressmedia.com. Contact Aki Soga at asoga@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @asoga.